UK standard plug sockets

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="Ab"]

I have a uk 3pin socket extension  with 4 outlets which is fused which i brought to france when i moved here 5 years ago.

I REPLACED THE 3PIN ATTACHMENT WITH A 2PIN FRENCH ONE SO I COULD PLUG IT INTO THE FRENCH WALL SOCKET AND USE IT TO ATTACH A COMPUTER,PRINTERAND A DESK LAMP .

my question now is --is this o.k. or not??or should i change all the accessories to a 2 point french plug and buy a 4 plug french  extension cable??

[/quote]

You have plugged it into a 2-pin socket?? (ie. one with no earth). Computers really should be earthed! (switch-mode power supplies are very "leaky" to earth). There really isn't an issue with using a Uk multigang with a French plug on the end, but there is no non-earthed standard in the UK (like there is in France), so you really should change the plug and plug it into an appropriate socket.

 

[chirpy]

the wall plug is 2 point with a fuse screwed in alongside it and my uk extension lead has a 13 amp fuse.Is this still a problem?

[P]

On a slightly different note, the house that we bought had had some additional sockets installed, being of the 3 'pin' French variety. On closer inspection, the electrician who had carried out the work had simply wired them in to the existing live and neutral of the existing 2 pin system so that there was no earth.

Further inspection has revealed that, although the breakers in the board are two pole it is only the live that is fed through this. The neutrals are all fed from a busbar.

Nicks valid point about requiring an earth does need confirming that you actually have one.

Paul

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="Ab"]the wall plug is 2 point with a fuse screwed in alongside it and my uk extension lead has a 13 amp fuse.Is this still a problem?[/quote]

Errrr.... yes.

As I mention above, computers really should be earthed (for their own good, as much as your safety), and this requires a 3-pin socket. It has nothing to do with fuse rating (especially as those sockets are rated at 10A, so are as likely to catch fire as the 13A fuse is to blow), the 3rd (non-existant in you socket) pin is the earth.

 

 

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="P"]

On a slightly different note, the house that we bought had had some additional sockets installed, being of the 3 'pin' French variety. On closer inspection, the electrician who had carried out the work had simply wired them in to the existing live and neutral of the existing 2 pin system so that there was no earth.

Further inspection has revealed that, although the breakers in the board are two pole it is only the live that is fed through this. The neutrals are all fed from a busbar.

Nicks valid point about requiring an earth does need confirming that you actually have one.

Paul

[/quote]

This is all very "normal" on older installations. Elcetricians have always recommended that all of the wiring in a house is replaced every 25 - 30 years. This is especially important in a French house where the standards have changed dramatically (much more so than they have in the UK) over the past 25 years.

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="Ab"]

I have a uk 3pin socket extension  with 4 outlets which is fused which i brought to france when i moved here 5 years ago.

I REPLACED THE 3PIN ATTACHMENT WITH A 2PIN FRENCH ONE SO I COULD

PLUG IT INTO THE FRENCH WALL SOCKET AND USE IT TO ATTACH A

COMPUTER,PRINTERAND A DESK LAMP .

my question now is --is this o.k. or not??or should i change all the

accessories to a 2 point french plug and buy a 4 plug french

 extension cable??

[/quote]

The rule-of-thumb is not that difficult to get your head round, really:

• If an appliance comes with a three-pin plug, a three-core cable,
  or sports a socket with three pins (like a computer for example) it
  needs to end up connected to an earthed (three pin) socket.

• If an appliance comes with a two-pin plug, a two-core cable, or
  sports a two-pin socket (like a portable radio for example), it is
  double insulated and can be plugged into either a two-pin or a
  three-pin socket.

p